Bush. As in bush league. As in actions or conduct evidencing that an athlete does not have the real class of a big leaguer.
Other than insulting someone?s mother, calling some bush is one of the most derogatory handles you can put on a ballplayer, coach or manager. I learned that much in four seasons of following the Mets and then the Yankees.
Oscar Gamble, the outfielder with the wild Afro, once told an Arlington, Tx., bus driver who operated like he might have been a little bit intoxicated, ?Whoa, bussie you driving bush. You ain?t diriving no bush league team here. You?re driving the New York Yankees so drive like you should for men of our statues.?
Yes, he said ?statues? and not ?stature.?
Mark down self-styled King LeBron James as bush for his post-game behavior in Orlando Saturday night as the Magic eliminated the Cavaliers in the NBA Eeastern Finals.
Mark down formerly undefeated junior middleweight Alfredo Angulo, nickname of ?Perro? meaning dog, in the same bad category.
And then, when listing class and sportsmanship, put a happy checkmark next to Manny Pacquiao?s name because I don?t believe the Pinoy Idol would ever pull the stunts the hoops superstar and the Mexican boxer did on the same night.
Like a spoiled child, James offered no congratulatory words or even one handshake to Dwight Howard and the Magic. According to Cleveland.com, His Royal Lowness spoke briefly to teammates in the gloomy locker room.
He then put on his earphones, shut out the world and boarded with team bus without uttering a syllable to waiting media.
You may not think stiffing the press is significant but, when these guys do it, they are really giving fans the middle finger.
As far as the barkless ?Perro,? he dropped a 116-112, 12-round decision to Kermit Cintron. Suddenly, the anointed Next Great Mexican Fighter was 15-1 and had his KO streak snapped at 11 bouts.
No one in the Hollywood, Fl., arena or watching on HBO protested the points verdict which was tabulated exactly the same by three judges.
Some may have quibbled about whether it should have been 115-113 but the more experienced Cintron clearly won, at least by a 7-5 rounds margin.
Yet HBO?s Max Kellerman, representing the company paying Angulo?s purse and Cintron?s also, was limited to speaking to the winner.
Angulo stormed out of the ring in a heartbeat after hearing the decision and, from what I saw on the TV screen, never bothered to congratulate Froggy Kermit.
Bush and bush, LeBron and Angulo. Bush is as bush does.
The test of sportsmanship and true character is handing adversity meaning handling defeat.
Would it have killed James to give go to the Magic dressing room and offer congratulations? Did he think the team bus would?ve left for the airport without him if he spent five or 10 minutes speaking to the media?
Was Angulo rushing to the airport for a midnight flight to Mexicali?
Which gets me back to Da Pacman.
Win, lose or draw against Floyd Mayweather, I will bet Filipino pesos to a heaping plate of rellenong bangus that Manny would not act like that.
Manny gets it. Manny understands the media is just a conduit to the fans and that the fans put the gasoline in the Pacman car.
Manny gives the fans and the media and his worthy competitors a smiling thumbs up.
On this particular night, LeBron and Angulo gave all three groups the bird.
Two brats and one classy athlete.
What a world of difference.
Michael is a former sports columnist at the New York Post. He was a criminal defense attorney and worked for sports legends Howard Cosell and Don King. Marley also operates Boxingconfidential.com. Email him your thoughts. He makes it a practice to always recommend Pacland, Philboxing and feisty upstart Pacfanscorner.
